HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes08_0226City of Falcon Heights
Planning Commission Minutes
February 26, 2008
PRESENT: Commissioners Anderson, Hasegawa, Lukermann, Noble, Rodich, Salzberg, Watkins, City Council Liaison Kuettel. Also present was Staff Liaison Deb Jones.
The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Chair Eric Watkins.
The minutes of the January, 2008, meeting were approved with one correction.
Review of Planning Commission Standing Rules and Policies (tabled from January)
Commission members have received a copy of the standing rules with changes and additions from last month, also a copy of Chapter 2 of the city code on which the policy document is based,
a copy of Sikkink’s Seven Motion System (cited in the standing rules) and a copy of the guidelines for public meetings passed by the Council in 2005. Staff Liaison Jones explained that
the Sikkink system was found in the city administrative manual and is also used by the Council for cases when standing rules do not apply.
The chair asked if there were any further changes. Commissioner Noble renewed her call for a vice chair to facilitate a smooth transition in case the chair is absent, explaining later
in response to a question from Commissioner Rodich that she had observed a delay at a previous meeting when there was no contingency plan for the absence of the chair. Jones said the
election of a vice chair is provided for in the code, not the standing rules, and the Commission may proceed to elect a vice chair at any time. Noble then asked that this be put on the
agenda for March. In response to a question from Commissioner Hasegawa, Jones said that with seven on the commission, four are needed for a quorum. Watkins summarized the requested
changes, restoring the vice chair to the Membership provision of the standing rules.
Commissioner Anderson raised the issue of Sikkink’s Seven Motion System. She said she had found a Professor Sikkink on the University faculty and suspects this system was introduced
as an experiment. She asked Council Member Kuettel if the Council does use this system. Ms. Kuettel said the Council’s process is open and informal, but this is the policy. Anderson
suggested that the Commission use instead Robert’s Rules of Order. Commissioner Salzberg objected that this would require a parliamentarian and access to a copy of Robert’s Rules. He
also pointed out that the Sikkink system is only in effect if the standing rules are set aside by a 3/4 vote of the commission and noted that this has never happened in his experience.
Sikkink was left in.
Rodich moved, Hasegawa seconded, that the standing rules be approved as amended. Motion passed.
Introduction of the 2008 Falcon Heights Comprehensive Plan:
Staff Liaison Jones presented a brief overview of the comprehensive plan draft, with particular attention to the land use section. The transportation, stormwater and wastewater sections
were written by Short Elliot Hendrickson, Inc.; the remainder was written by city staff with input from Dan Cornejo of Cornejo Associates. All of the sections are available to the public
on the city website. There will be two open houses, one on March 13 and one on April 3, at 6:30 p.m., for people to come and learn about the plan and ask questions. The required public
hearing before the Planning Commission will be in March, and the City Council will conduct its approval process in April. After that the draft will be sent out to adjoining cities for
a six-month review process, after which the plan will be submitted to the Metropolitan Council.
The plan covers the period to 2030 and must provide for the city’s share of population growth and the need for affordable housing. Falcon Heights is expected to need about 250 additional
housing units by 2030, of which about 20 will need to be affordable. Jones said that since Falcon Heights is fully developed, and since the University of Minnesota and State Fair are
not expected to sell any of their land for private use, changes in Falcon Heights are expected to be limited to larger private commercial and multi-family properties along Larpenteur
Avenue, west of Snelling. Since Larpenteur is a transit corridor, this is a good location for multi-family housing. Existing uses will continue until owners are ready to redevelop, and
change will be market-driven. If mixed use residential development is allowed at the city’s present average of 28 units per acre, than only a quarter to a third of the commercial land
in the Larpenteur corridor will be needed. This density is considered to be sufficient to allow the market to develop affordable housing. Some of the sites where redevelopment could
take place are the Hermes Nursery property, the west end of TIES (the old city hall), some portion of the Twin Cities Co-op property and Larpenteur Manor, the largest of the city’s older
apartment complexes. Some of the small, older apartment buildings might be redeveloped also, in this time frame.
The Commissioners had a number of questions and concerns for staff, especially concerning requirements for affordable housing. Commissioner Anderson was concerned that the kind of low
wage jobs generated by local retail businesses in mixed use developments might not be matched by appropriate local housing for those workers. Commissioner Lukermann felt that the implementation
section does not go far enough in mandating a certain proportion of affordable units in new developments above some minimum size, that the implementation depends to much on other kinds
of incentives. Anderson pointed out that a developer with sufficient funding could bypass the financial incentives, and with closer-in locations becoming more desirable, Falcon Heights
might become much more desirable to developers of luxury housing. Lukermann gave Forest Lake as an example of a city that put in stronger language. Salzberg pointed out that there is
applicable language in the Goals and Policies section.
Commissioner Lukermann asked about the status of the old schoolhouse at the southwest corner of Cleveland and Larpenteur, if it had not been identified as a one of the city’s historical
and cultural resources. Jones responded that the school, being on University land is beyond the city’s control, and the city has no say in what happens to it. Kuettel added that the
building is full of asbestos and may be too expensive to salvage.
Jones explained the campus housing overlay district proposed in the plan for the area on campus south of Commonwealth Avenue. The city has been approached regarding possible future construction
of a fraternity house on campus at Cleveland and Commonwealth. This might come under the city’s zoning controls, so the district is an attempt to prepare for that possibility or future
changes at Commonwealth Terrace. When a private entity leases land for housing from the University, that land does fall under city zoning jurisdiction, which is the case for 1666 Coffman
and the University Grove.
Lukermann brought up discussions last year on what the city might like to see if the University were to give up any of its land for development. She noted that the current draft is very
vague on this subject and asked if that was intentional. Jones described the evolution of staff thinking in this issue. The city intends to remove the existing dual zoning from all the
institutional land and zone it all as public land. Then the public institutions would have to come to the city to seek rezoning if any change was planned and there could be an amendment
of the comprehensive plan. It was the feeling at the staff level that this is sufficient, given the limited resources and time available to create this plan. Lukermann pointed out that
there are some specifics that do address public land in the Larpenteur-Cleveland area. Jones said the plan’s description of a civic-cultural-recreational hub in that area recognizes
existing and planned amenities, such as the Bell Museum, and expresses a hope to dovetail with plans the University already has to create a “gateway” in that area; the city has no actual
jurisdiction there.
In response to another question from Commissioner Lukermann, Jones explained that the plan is proposing that before any major changes take place on Larpenteur, the city intends to conduct
a corridor study along Larpenteur and then amend the comp plan, if necessary, to reflect the results of that study. The city did not have time or financial resources to undertake the
study while the comp plan was being prepared, so it is being proposed as part of the implementation. The timing of the study would depend on when the Council could provide the funds
for it.
Anderson asked why the approval timetable was moved up. Jones explained that the city had originally planned to submit the draft, as required, to surrounding municipalities for their
review and comments before the local approval process. However, staff found out that the Metropolitan Council prefers that the local approvals be done first.. The other cities must be
given six months for their review, and the plan is due at the Metropolitan Council by the end of the year, so Falcon Heights approval needed to be moved up.
INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:
There were no announcements.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Deborah Jones, Staff Liaison